


Seigfried

by frozenasphalt



Series: Ivy [3]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Middle School, Coming of Age, Crossdressing, Fluff and Angst, Homophobic Language, Insecurity, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Self-Discovery, Underage Drinking, this is honestly so messy but i love sebaek a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-24 10:40:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9719675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozenasphalt/pseuds/frozenasphalt
Summary: Baekhyun’s never been very gallant. Sehun makes him want to be.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe I should move  
> Settle down, two kids and a swimming pool  
> I'm not brave ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkoshvRVpgE))
> 
>    
> -this is a sebaek sidestory for my [ivy](http://archiveofourown.org/series/594061) series but it can be read as a standalone!

The kid was always by himself. He constantly had his head down, whether it was with his nose stuck in an obscure novel or hovering over a piece of paper, sketch pencil going a mile a minute. He never looked up unless it was to scowl or judge people with his thick, dark eyebrows, and said no more than a few words to anybody except his teachers. He was the type of kid with a reputation even though he didn’t have many friends; everyone knew the name Sehun Oh.

Baekhyun had no relish for the kid _or_ his eyebrows. He had no idea why Chanyeol was always running from Sehun in fear, ducking around corners and cowering behind lockers when he walked by; he couldn’t hurt a fly with those chicken arms, Baekhyun gathered.

Baekhyun found all Sehun did was glare at him lately. It was infuriating, acerbic enough to burn holes through a person’s soul. His thin lips would always tilt in a condescending smirk no matter how much Baekhyun shot daggers back at him.

Similar to the way he was doing so now.

Getting up from the lunch table, Baekhyun turned his attention from the kid he and his group of friends had been poking fun at and began to address Sehun, alone at a table nearby.

Was this brat looking for a fight or what?

“Hey!” Baekhyun shouted. “What’s with the staring? You got something to say? Hurry up and say it before I get some tape and rip those stray caterpillars off your forehead so they can return to the tree they crawled out of.”

His group of friends laughed, high-fiving him in triumph. Sehun was not so amused. The line in his forehead grew deeper as he scowled.

Baekhyun slammed his hand down on the empty space of table closest to Sehun, invading his personal bubble. “For the love of God, would you just _say_ whatever is going on in that blonde melon head of yours?” Sipping noisily from the straw of his milk carton, Sehun said nothing, gaze crackling with a heat that made the back of Baekhyun’s neck sweat. “That’s what I thought,” Baekhyun sighed. He turned to walk away. “Look at me that way again and I’ll spoon your eyes out.”

The sound of Sehun’s voice stopped Baekhyun dead in his tracks. “Bullies like you are the worst.”

“What was that?” Baekhyun asked, whipping back around.

“You think what you do is okay because you’re the funny guy and everyone likes you,” Sehun continued, eloquent and unruffled. “But making jokes at other people’s expense is rude and hurtful. People are scared of you as much as they’re scared of me but unlike me, you thrive on that fear and use it as authority. That’s why people dare not voice themselves against you; they just follow blindly like your lackeys here or disregard you like that kid you were just picking on. And it just feeds your ego. I think even though you’re always wearing a smile, deep down, you’re pathetic. You pick on others to hide your insecurities. You’re a coward.”

For once, Baekhyun had no comeback to spit out. He watched with tight fists as Sehun simply got up from the table, collected his things and walked away.

 

Baekhyun had dwelled on what Sehun said to him all night, sweltered in it. He was right; no one had called him out like that before. But who did Sehun Oh think he was, assailing him like that?

He didn’t even _know_ him.

 

As soon as he arrived to school the next day, Baekhyun searched for Sehun’s blonde mop through the halls where he usually stuck out like a sore thumb; he towered over everyone. He was determined to find him and confront him about what he’d said the other day; he wouldn’t let him get away with it. He scoured the classrooms but to no avail and began to lose hope as he swept the final hall of the school. He peeked into the art room and let out a sound of triumph once his eyes locked onto Sehun, holed up with his head hung over his sketchpad, alone at the front of the room. Of course he’d be here; he was the only person in the entire school who would venture into this dusty, isolated corner of the building at this time in the morning. Baekhyun felt silly for not thinking of it sooner.

“Hey, Eyebrows,” he called, plodding towards Sehun. “You hurt my feelings the other day and I want an apology!”

Sehun glanced up at him, expression hard. “Shut up and sit over there and don’t move,” he commanded, monotone. When Baekhyun’s forehead wrinkled, he pointed to the desk across from him.

“ _Excuse_ me?”

“I want you to model for my art project.”

“Nah, I’m not doin’ that lame shit--”

Sehun’s gaze was sharp as a blade. “Sit your ass _down_.”

There was something about Sehun that made Baekhyun obey, if grudgingly (but he was definitely _not_ intimidated by his eyebrows). He grumbled, dropped his backpack on the floor and sat with a harrumph. Sehun started to scribble, glancing up at him from time to time.

The apprehension in Baekhyun’s shoulders frittered away. “What’s the project?”

“We’re supposed to draw something that’s inherently ugly but that we also find traces of beauty in.”

“What the _fuck_.”

Sehun had the gall to smile at him. “As ugly as you are on the outside, I think you’re probably hiding something beautiful in that hardened heart of yours.”

For the second time, Baekhyun could not muster a comeback. His tongue felt coiled, twisted up. He wriggled in his seat, suddenly finding it hard to get comfortable again.

“Sit _still_.”

 

It only took Sehun a couple of days to finish the drawing. They met up before class at the same time and Baekhyun began to take quite a liking to the quiet art room, just the two of them. Sehun is surprisingly a clever conversationalist; Baekhyun found himself laughing at every other thing that leapt from his lips, would never admit that he had been sort of taken by his shrewdness. Baekhyun is used to being the one to make people laugh but Sehun often frowned harder when he told jokes and it made him want to scream. If his friends knew he was here, there was no doubt in Baekhyun’s mind that _he_ would be the butt of the joke.

Sehun held up the sketch, proud grin lighting up his hard features. Baekhyun’s breath hitched in his throat at the sight of it; the resemblance was uncanny. He somehow made him look _better_.

“Holy shit,” Baekhyun breathed. “You have some real talent there, Oh. You’re getting an A+ for sure.”

 

Sehun did indeed receive his A, and the picture even got entered into the art show and won first place.

Something strange swelled in Baekhyun's heart as he looked up at the portrait of himself on display in the auditorium.

“You let that scary weird guy draw you?” Baekhyun jolted at the sound of Chanyeol’s voice. Thank God he had been the one to catch him gazing longingly at the art instead of one of his other, more disparaging friends.

Baekhyun frowned. “He’s _not_ scary. Or weird. He’s actually a pretty okay person. He’s insanely talented.”

“Do you wanna get gay married to him or something?”

“Suck my dick, Park.”

“In your dreams.”

 

Sehun reproached Baekhyun when the shades of his popularity got too foggy and Baekhyun actually looked forward to being pushed around by the younger boy. He got a weird sense of satisfaction from the way Sehun would set him straight when he stepped too far out of line. He was the first person who had ever cared enough to do so.

On the regular, Sehun wheedled him into modeling for his art. Sometimes he would refuse to talk to Baekhyun and make him remain silent, to deal with the quiet in his mind.

They started hanging out outside of school too, not just for Sehun’s art but because Sehun likes soccer just as much as Baekhyun (but he’s way better at it).

It was Baekhyun who first invited himself over to Sehun’s house. He had been hinting at it for a while (“I’m gonna need refreshments and snacks and constant reassurance here, buddy. I don’t work for free.”), and Sehun had been more than glad to indulge him.

He was introduced to Sehun’s mom, dad and younger brother on a sunny Thursday. As soon as they had walked in, Baekhyun introduced himself stridently and with the biggest grin he could manage. Sehun made him a snack as Baekhyun made blithe small talk with his mom and afterwards, they both headed up to Sehun’s room.

The white paint on his walls was barely visible; drawings and paintings of various colors, sizes and experimental styles (all impressive) were plastered everywhere.

“Whoa, is this everything you’ve ever drawn _ever_?” Baekhyun asked, still gaping up at Sehun’s work.

Sehun chuckled. “No, this isn’t even the half of it. These are just a few of my personal favorites.”

Baekhyun’s face burned.

Two out of the four drawings Sehun had done of Baekhyun sat neatly above his bed.

 

Sehun was rewarded a camera for Christmas form his grandparents for maintaining good grades and started drawing less and dabbling in photography more. He seemed to have more gusto for photography, snapping pictures of anything and everything and Baekhyun had truly underestimated his talents. He hadn’t met the acquaintance of any other twelve year old who was this passionate about their hobbies, this brave enough to pursue them; most of Baekhyun’s friends had a hard time deciding on what movie they should go see over the weekend, often mimicking the interests of others, or whatever was “in” that week. Too scared to be themselves. But Sehun is unapologetically Sehun and knew what he wanted for himself in the future, couldn’t imagine one where he wasn’t doing what he loves. Everyone else their age had yet to even ponder what the future may hold, and would probably go on to plan their careers based on what their parents want for them. What they _think_ they should be.

Baekhyun has never been very brave. In all honesty, he felt inferior looking at Sehun, especially when he was focused, his eyebrows furrowing in that manner that made Baekhyun’s stomach flip. Baekhyun had never garnered much interest in anything besides soccer and making people laugh, neither of which he could make a serious career of. He only ever dedicated large amounts of time to homework and playing video games with Chanyeol. He envied Sehun’s mind, vast and innovative, was forced to think outside of the box whenever Sehun so much as opened his mouth. He had never been forced to look at the grand scheme of things or examine himself introspectively.

But he did just that. He made an effort to apologize to people he may have hurt in the past and swore to being kinder (while still being funny).

Soon they were an inseparable pair. Baekhyun wanted to be close to Sehun at all times, clung to him like kelp to an ocean diver’s skin, unwilling to loosen up. If Sehun was not by his side (rare), Baekhyun was rambling on about him more than necessary and soon, his friends took it upon themselves to welcome Sehun into their circle. Baekhyun couldn’t have been more elated. He likewise managed to help Chanyeol become less afraid of Sehun’s eyebrows and they bonded over a shared love of metal bands and in time, became close. Too close perhaps; Baekhyun was terribly friend-jealous, would stomp his feet like a todler when Sehun neglected him in favor of chatting with Chanyeol. He was cognizant of how it must have looked, but couldn’t help the pout that formed on his lips whenever Sehun didn’t give him the minimum required amount of his undivided attention (100% of it).

“You _so_ wanna gay marry him,” Chanyeol had whispered as Baekhyun swooped into a conversation he and Sehun were having, wrapping his arms around the side of his waist and hugging him tight. Baekhyun just darted his tongue out at Chanyeol and clung to Sehun harder.

 

Baekhyun fell for Sehun faster than he could comprehend what was actually happening. As much as he admired his mind, he couldn’t deny the fact that he liked his broad shoulders as well. Everything about him became mesmerizing--his lips, his hair, his eyes, his cheeks, his long legs.

Baekhyun liked everything about him so much it scared him a little.

 

They were sitting on Sehun’s bed studying when it happened. Science never failed to make Baekhyun yawn nonstop and he had pushed his books to the foot of the bed before he got past the first page of his assigned reading in favor of laying his head in Sehun’s lap. Sehun’s face was a far more interesting topic of study. He hadn’t meant to say it; the words had spilled from his lips with a wild velocity that was impossible to stop.

“Be my boyfriend.”

Sehun had gawked at him, a flash of shock on his face before his features became suffused with rosy delight. “Okay.”

 

At thirteen, dating was uncharted territory to Baekhyun. It was an awkward dance of push and pull and Baekhyun wasn’t sure of who was supposed to lead. The things he’d seen in movies weren’t the best reference (neither were the things he’d learned from watching Chanyeol. Though he was the only one who had any luck in the dating department within his group of friends, he wasn’t the best role model).

He expected the world to flip. Fireworks to sound every time they touched. But not much changed at all; they were still inseparable, but they just held hands a bit more often. No one questioned the implications of it.

Except Baekhyun himself.

He felt immensely for Sehun. He had no idea if Sehun felt the same; he could never accurately gauge the younger boy’s emotions. He disliked the fact that Sehun seemed uncertain when it came to their budding romance. The younger boy would insist on sharing hugs and hushed secrets in hidden corners as to be sure they wouldn’t be seen. It was infuriating.

Their hot headed personalities clashed from time to time, and they broke up once every other week because Baekhyun is petty and Sehun is nonchalant. They always managed to find their way back to each other in the end, though and Baekhyun fell that much harder each time.

 

When they kissed for the first time, they were in the locker room changing back into their uniforms after gym. Baekhyun had approached Sehun after he was sure everyone had cleared out. He put his backpack up against the door just in case and cornered him against a locker.

“You like me, right?” Baekhyun asked, pressing his body flush against Sehun’s. His palms began to sweat where they pressed flat against the lockers at each side of Sehun’s neck.

Sehun’s features were rounded, his fringe wet from the shower and dripping into his eyes. “Y-yeah.”

“Then _show_ me.”

The initial press of their lips was tentative and slightly gauche. Neither of them knew exactly what they were doing, the slide of their tongues messy, the clash of their teeth too rough. But in that moment, it was like an alarm went off in the back of Baekhyun’s mind, strident and fierce.

He didn’t just want to keep Sehun all to himself.

He _needed_ to.

 

Baekhyun asked Sehun to marry him just days before his fourteenth birthday. They had been on one of their excursions into the woods and discovered a tattered little wooden bridge traversing a strait, brush of trees surrounding it thick, alive. It had become their spot, the scenery perfect for photoshoots and the burble of the water a panacea for their worries. The best part about it was the manner in which the sun and moon shone down and illuminated the area in a magical sense.

Baekhyun had become entranced by the way the sunlight made Sehun’s hair glow like a bejeweled crown as it stuck up slightly.

It really _had_ been meant to be a joke. But it didn’t quite sound or feel like one as Baekhyun’s words mimicked the water and burbled from his mouth.

Disbelief sat heavy between Sehun’s brows. “Two boys can’t get married. It’s illegal.”

“A minor detail,” Baekhyun sang. “Anyways, my mom insists gays will get the right to marry any day now that Obama is in office.”

“Your mom knows you’re gay?”

“Sure. She and my older brother kind of just guessed it. When I was six, I wanted to marry Will Smith. Imagine my devastation when I found out he was already married.” He chortled but ceased when he realized Sehun wasn’t laughing with him. He turned over from where they had been laying on their backs on the bridge to look at Sehun. He was frowning so hard he looked scary. “Do your parents know?”

“No way,” Sehun grumbled. “My family would disown me if they knew. Anyway, I’m not even one hundred percent certain I even am gay. I think I like girls, too.” He paused and nibbled at his lip. “Even so, I wouldn't wanna get married, anyway.”

“Why not?” Baekhyun asked. His heart was hurting.

“I think it's pointless. It’s stupid and kids are horrible.”

“You’re a kid. _I’m_ a kid.”

“My point _exactly_.”

 

“Do you think Sehun’s into girls?”

Chanyeol had looked at him like he had three heads. “He dated Yeri and Seohyun from our sister school last year.”

Baekhyun cursed under his breath. He never paid attention to Sehun back then. “I’m gonna ask you to help me with something crazy. You gotta say yes.”

“And if I say no?”

“I covered for your ass when you were late to fourth period today because you were eating out that tenth grader Tiffany Hwang in the bathroom when she was here to pick up her sick brother. You _owe_ me this.”

 

It only took minimal threatening and one purple nurple for Chanyeol to go through with helping him execute his plan. Baekhyun stood outside while he trudged into the store because _it’ll look less strange if only one of us goes in_.

“This is the gayest thing you’ve ever done,” Chanyeol groaned as he exited the store and pushed the bag into Baekhyun’s arms, the tips of his ears red with shame.

“I _know_.”

 

He had been certain the wig had given him lice because he could not for the life of him stop scratching it and no matter how much he adjusted it, it just didn’t sit right on his head. He hadn’t had the time to go home and iron the skirt; it was sticking up at the hem, a complete disaster. He wasn’t sure if he’d tied the bow on the front of the ugly sailor girl uniform right (and dammit, Chanyeol _knew_ yellow wasn’t his color). It was a size too tiny, chafing and bunching awkwardly beneath his underarms every time he moved to check his reflection in the compact mirror he’d bought (different occasion). His makeup was far from perfect; he’d been too heavy handed slapping on the blush (he looked like a haunted baby doll with a bone to pick) and his lipstick kept smudging. But at least the winged eye liner looked killer.

He’d told Sehun to meet him at their usual spot in the woods by the bridge at five on the dot, but it was already a quarter past. The moonlight was shining down beautifully like usual, but there was a thick shroud of fog dancing around him in a sort of foreboding manner that made a coldness run down his back. The sky was darkening rapidly and the wind was gaining momentum; his legs had never felt this exposed, hair standing on end from the sting of the breeze and anticipation alike.

The crunch of footsteps against the leaves and the rustle of the brush made Baekhyun’s stomach lurch painfully. Maybe his plan _hadn’t_ been such a good one. What if Sehun took one look at him and freaked out? What if he broke up with him on the spot?

The thought to abandon this insane idea and run all the way home crossed his mind but soon after, Sehun came out of the trees and through the fog into sight. The light of the moon illuminated his features in a way that made Baekhyun’s breath hitch in his throat; he was dressed in an old t-shirt and jacket, tattered jeans and sneakers, but he looked so handsome even as confusion settled deeper into his forehead, a pout on his lips. Baekhyun wanted to kiss it off.

“What the hell is all this?” Sehun asked, eyeing Baekhyun’s get up. “What are you wearing?” His hands instinctively came up to touch the camera handing from his neck. “Did you wanna have an impromptu shoot? This isn’t necessarily my kind of aesthetic, and the lighting isn’t ideal, but--”

“Do you wanna go out with me?” Baekhyun blurted, voice shaky.

Sehun walked over to Baekhyun. He smiled and placed a gentle hand on the crown of Baekhyun’s head. “We’re already going out, dummy.”

“Yeah, but do you _want_ to? We’ve only kissed that one time and I nearly had to beg you. You never hold me for long unless no one’s looking. You treat me like a glorified best friend and if I wanted friendship from you I never would have asked you out.” This wasn’t how this was supposed to go, but it was like he had no control over the words that bubbled up his throat, poured out hot and aggrieved. Typical. He thrust his gaze to the ground, body vibrating with the want, the _need_ to cry. But Baekhyun refused to let his tears fall. “Just tell me what I have to do to get you to finally fucking _notice_ me.”

Sehun heaved a sigh. “You’re shivering,” he commented, voice hushed. He took his jacket off and draped it around Baekhyun’s shoulders. He kept his hands there as he maneuvered them both backwards to sit on a tree stump, holding Baekhyun close as they looked up at the glittering moon through the fog.

“I _do_ notice you. How else would I know you never eat sandwiches unless the crusts are cut off like a baby? How your bottom lip sort of overlaps your top lip when you smile? The way your fingers sometimes curl prettily around your neck when you’re trying to find the right words to say? How you look the most stressed when Chanyeol isn’t around but your forehead smoothes out and the tension in your body leaves the second he finds his way back to your side? And I noticed all these things before we started hanging out. Before I dragged you into being my model.”

Baekhyun swallowed around the lump in his throat.

Sehun lent him a smile. “I don’t want you to be anyone else. You’re not graceful or soft--not unless you’re gracefully running into my arms or unless your gaze softens like rose petals when you look at me. I like that you’re sort of obnoxious and unbearable and rough around the edges. I like that you sometimes challenge me but ultimately balance me out. I like you because you’re you. You don’t need to try to be anything else to impress me.”

Baekhyun was a fool for thinking he could withhold the flood of tears that soon rushed from his eyes.

 

Sehun made an effort to coddle Baekhyun. He was the perfect gentleman when he put his heart into it and consented to taking Baekhyun on cute dates even though that sort of thing has never been his style. Baekhyun knew Sehun was doing this for his sake, making compromise because he cared. Because he wanted to see him happy.

The light of the photo booth made Sehun squint adorably. Baekhyun giggled as he sidled in next to him, loading the coins in and poking at the settings.

“Now what?” Sehun mumbled.

Baekhyun gawked at his boyfriend. “You’ve never been in one of these before?”

Sehun shook his head and adoration caused Baekhyun’s heart to clench.

“Now we pose however you want.”

“However _I_ want?”

Baekhyun nodded. The countdown sounded and Baekhyun jolted as Sehun grabbed him by the waist and slotted their mouths together. The flash went off.

 

Baekhyun skipped the entire walk to Sehun’s house like a child on her way to her first tea party. Sehun had urged Baekhyun to meet up with him, presumably for another date. The day was perfect; the sun was shining down just for them and Baekhyun was excited to find out where Sehun had decided to whisk him off to next (he hoped that wherever it was, there was a mountain of food waiting for him because he hadn’t eaten all day).

He rang the doorbell more times than necessary and his smile vanished as Sehun answered the door. The look on his face was one that Baekhyun had never seen before, not just solemn but dejected, on the verge of terrified, the bags under his eyes cause for concern.

“Sorry,” Sehun mouthed at him before they both walked inside.

Mr and Mrs. Oh were waiting on the couch, their heads hung and their posture stiff, a shroud draped over them. Sehun’s younger brother was sitting on the rug in front of them, playing with a toy truck, the only normal thing about this situation.

“Go to your room, Johnny,” Mr. Oh had demanded, voice stern. Baekhyun watched as Johnny obeyed, immediately disappearing upstairs.

Chills ran in spate down Baekhyun’s spine. “W…what’s going on?”

“That’s _exactly_ what we want to know,” Mr. Oh retorted, shooting to his feet. He held out his hand, thrusting something in Baekhyun’s face. Baekhyun’s eyes widened in shock as he realized he was showing him the Polaroid’s Baekhyun and Sehun took on their date at the mall.

Mr. Oh was shaking with rage. Baekhyun stepped back, knocking into Sehun who stood close behind him. “I found it in his dresser draw, hidden at the bottom like the filth it is. We’d never have let you step foot in this house if we knew.”

“If you knew what?”

“If we knew that our son has been hanging around a _faggot_.”

Baekhyun bristled. “…What did you just call me?”

“It’s because of your influence that he’s this way now; he wasn’t this way before!”

Baekhyun’s fist and jaw both clenched at once.

Sehun stepped in, wrapping a hand around Baekhyun’s arm to hold him back. “Baek, just forget it--”

“Hate to break it to you, Mr. Oh, but this faggot knows your son better than you _ever_ will. Sorry, but he’s always been _this way_ ; he was just afraid to show you the real him because he knew you would react like this. This humiliation, this…degradation is what he was dreading! _You_ should be the one ashamed.” With that, Baekhyun grabbed Sehun’s wrist and headed for the front door.

“Don’t you walk away from me, Sehun,” Mr. Oh called but by then, the pair were already out the door.

 

That night, Baekhyun’s mom gave the Oh residence a call and a large slice of her mind. She put Sehun’s dad in his place and managed to recruit Sehun’s mom onto her side (with a smile and a warm hug, she let Baekhyun in on the fact that Mrs. Oh made Mr. Oh stay at a hotel until he decided to behave and apologize).

Sehun had been tucked into Baekhyun’s bed sheets, motionless and quiet as a rock for hours. Baekhyun tiptoed towards him and set a cup of tea on the counter next to him softly as not to wake him. He inspected Sehun’s face as he slept; he’d always looked so angelic like this. Baekhyun felt the overwhelming desire to somehow attain the ability to ward away every single trace of his worries, protect him forever. He moved to press a kiss to the younger boy’s temple, but before he could do so, Sehun’s eyes flew open.

Baekhyun pressed his lips together. “You weren’t sleeping, were you?”

“No,” Sehun said, sitting up. “I just wanted to see what you would do to me.” He smirked and sipped his tea. Groaning in defeat, Baekhyun crawled over Sehun’s limbs and sat on the bed beside him.

“Have you ever read the story of the Nibelungenlied?” Sehun suddenly inquired.

“The _what_?”

“The Nibelungenlied. It’s Germanic legend. There’s this character I like named Seigfried. Though it was in secret, he helped this king overcome a series of challenges so the king could win an Icelandic queen’s heart, including fighting a dragon. Once the dragon was slain, Seigfried bathed in its blood, making him invulnerable. The king gave Seigfried his sister’s hand in marriage as a reward but later, the king consented to his murder because he found out Seigfried betrayed him; he slept with his wife.”

Baekhyun wrinkled his nose. “I thought you said the dragon’s blood made him invulnerable?”

“There was a spot he missed when he was bathing in the dragon’s blood--a leaf covering a patch of skin on the back of his neck. His Achilles heel, essentially.”

“Why is this relevant?”

“He reminds me of you. Sure, he’s flawed and made mistakes, but he’s brave at the core.”

Baekhyun grinned sadly. “If I’m Seigfried, is your dad the dragon? He sure looked like one today when he snarled at me and called me a fag. I thought he might charge at me. Would have definitely had to resort to kneeing him in the dick, at least.”

Sehun laughed and slapped Baekhyun on the arm, his fingers hot as they lingered against Baekhyun’s bare skin. “Seriously. Thanks for today. I don’t know what I would have said if you weren’t there. I’ve never stood up to him before, I--”

Baekhyun kissed the trouble off his lips.

 

The second time Baekhyun popped the big question, he and his friends were celebrating his sixteenth birthday. Well, his friends and half the neighborhood. He knew he should never have consented to Chanyeol being the one to throw the party--his friends had invited a bunch of their friends and they were behaving like escaped zoo animals. He prayed to _God_ that that sound of glass shattering just now wasn’t his mom’s new flower vase (or else he’d be a dead man).

To forget his stresses, he downed half a cup of vodka in record time; he was a light weight by nature and no matter how much he drank, he couldn’t build tolerance (it was a curse). But he only turned sixteen once and was determined to “relish the moment” as Chanyeol had so urged him to do.

The world began to spin like a top and he was sure he was seconds away from death and this was the last time he took Chanyeol’s advice. He clung to Sehun as the taller boy lead him to a quiet room and let out a loud groan as they both plopped down on the bed.

“You take such good care of me,” Baekhyun slurred into Sehun’s ear, wrapping his arms around him. He trailed kisses down his cheek and neck. “Marry me. I want to have your babies. No matter _how_ horrible they turn out.”

Sehun thwarted Baekhyun’s wandering hands. “You’re like an anemic ten year old girl--how on earth are you drunk so fast?”

“Don’t make fun of me! I’m serious, dammit.”

Sehun’s eyes softened.

Baekhyun searched Sehun’s eyes but came up empty handed, so instead decided to affix his lips to Sehun’s jaw. Sehun melted like chocolate beneath his touch and Baekhyun stole the opportunity to back the younger boy up against the headboard and settle himself in his lap.

He’d been working on getting Sehun to moan louder for him as he worked his ass over the bulge in his pants, leaving his mark on a patch of skin below Sehun’s ear when Sehun had said it.

“I’m transferring. To a public school.”

Baekhyun was suddenly _very_ sober. “What? _When_?!”

“…Next semester.”

“And you waited until _now_ to tell me this? What the fuck, Sehun?”

“It’s not far. We’d still see each other. It won’t change anything.”

Baekhyun didn’t argue more, just put his cheek on Sehun’s chest and lied there, rubbing his face against him every now and again like a cat seeking warmth.

He held his hand tight.

 

Baekhyun without Sehun was like a stranded man trying to brave his way through the desert though he knew he was days away from breathing his dying breath. Sehun was like an extra limb, and without him, it was like trying to skip rope with one arm while suspended in the depths of space. He got in trouble for not paying attention in class even more so than usual, his head in the clouds, every other though of the boy who had abandoned him.

He hadn’t wanted to embarrass Sehun in front of his new public school friends; he didn’t want to be _that_ guy. He had avoided going over to his new school and making surprise visits for almost a week straight. But his longing eventually overcame him like a tidal wave, and as soon as the bell dismissing school sounded, he hopped on his bike and pedaled to Sehun as fast as his feet would take him lest he drown.

The other kids were looking at him strange, his uniform disheveled, but Baekhyun could care less. As he was abandoning his bike to make his way inside the building, a voice from behind made him jump.  

“Hey,” Sehun said. “Why do you look like you just biked a marathon through fucking Mordor?”

Baekhyun hugged him tighter than ever.

 

Baekhyun thought the joint fieldtrip to Washington, D.C. that his school was having with Sehun’s school was the best thing to happen in a long time.

Sehun had taken more pictures of Baekhyun than of the white house.

“You’re supposed to be taking pictures of the historical monuments and landmarks,” Baekhyun chided, squinting through the glare of the sun. “Not snapping wank shots of my ass.”

Sehun laughed and the shutter of his camera went off twice more. “But I’ve missed it.”

Baekhyun beamed.

“Let me at least get one under that cherry blossom tree,” Sehun begged.

Baekhyun obliged, posing cutely under the tree as the rest of their group padded their way over to the other side of the street. Sehun smiled in between shots, snickering at the poses Baekhyun had began pulling.

Eyes sparkling, Sehun walked toward the tree and picked flower petals from Baekhyun’s hair. Then, he snaked his arm around Baekhyun’s waist, kissing him winded.

That night, they went all the way in bed for the first time. And if Baekhyun wasn’t sure of the fact that he was helplessly in love before, somewhere between the moment Sehun spelled out his adoration in the form of open mouthed kisses against his spine as he fucked into Baekhyun from behind and the second Sehun rasped his name as he came, it became clear, unfurling in technicolor.

 

 

Baekhyun scored higher than fathomable on his SATS and the cram school his mom had forced him to attend benefited him. He completed all his college applications with little assistance. Afterwards, he should have felt a sense of relief but the only thing he felt was a staggering amount of anxiety. He’d been racking his brain thinking about what would happen once he went away for college. What if Sehun got lonely and decided he wanted to break up? The thought scared Baekhyun more than the prospect of dying one day and trying to push it to the back of his mind was futile; it spawned a life of his own, crawled to the forefront of his brain and sprawled out with a fucking blanket.

He couldn’t shake it.

 

He couldn’t tell if drinking was a transient solution or self-sabotage. 

On a clear night, Chanyeol dragged Sehun, Baekhyun and a few other friends along to the park to meet up with some girls from their sister school, St. Elizabeth’s. It was fun for a little while, but Baekhyun was exhausted from faking smiles all day; he kind of just wanted to go home at this point. It was late. He only had a few sips of vodka from Chanyeol’s trusty flask, but he could feel the world turning and his blood became hot just minutes afterward. Even now, an ache had settled into his forehead. Yawning, he’d left the group to traipse over to Sehun who was perched in a swing and chugging a beer. Baekhyun settled his ass in his boyfriend’s lap, his favorite seat, ignoring the screech of the metal swing and Sehun’s complaints that it might break.

“Did Chanyeol tell you he just had a threesome with those two girls?” Baekhyun had asked, his tone a whisper. “Even though he’s dating Seulgi?”

“Which ones?”

Baekhyun nodded over to Yixing, Chanyeol and the trio of girls standing by the monkey bars, pointing to the pair of girls closest to Chanyeol. The big lug had his arm thrown around one of their shoulders, the other giving him the grossest heart eyes Baekhyun had ever been witness to as she laughed at whatever stupid shit that had left his mouth.

Sehun frowned. “Isn’t one of them friends with Seulgi?”

Baekhyun gasped; he hadn’t been privy to that particular detail. “That’s so messy and gross! _He’s_ so messy and gross. Like, why did he even ask her out if he was just gonna continue to be a sleazy little shit?”

“Don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit?” asked Sehun.

“Does that sort of shit appeal to you?”

“No, it’s just that it’s _Chanyeol_.”

With bumbling gait, Baekhyun stood to his feet. “So you’re excusing it? Do you wanna have a threesome behind _my_ back? You wish you could fuck other people, is that it?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then say what you mean!”

Sehun sighed. “We’ll talk about this when you sober up.”

Baekhyun scoffed and ambled back over to Chanyeol. He hip-bumped the girl who had just began encircling her arms around Chanyeol’s waist out of the way and took her place tucked underneath Chanyeol’s arm.

When he’d looked back over towards Sehun, he found the other boy nowhere in sight.

 

He could never tell when Sehun was truly mad at him; the younger boy had mastered the art of the poker face and was well versed from years of practice at concealing his feelings with his emotionless expression. But when Baekhyun rang Sehun’s doorbell the next night, Sehun refrained from kicking him to the curb.

Baekhyun watched Sehun’s face light up as his eyes locked onto the peace offering in the form of chocolates Baekhyun had brought. “What’s this for?” he asked.

“Sorry about last night,” Baekhyun blurted, handing Sehun the box of chocolates. “Vodka transforms me into a different person entirely. It’s like every time I drink it I morph into Ursula from The Little Mermaid.”

“Well, you’re definitely no Ariel. She knew when to shut up.”

Baekhyun slapped him directly in the nipple and pushed past him through the front door.

 

They had been watching a movie Kyungsoo had recommended to Sehun, an indie dramatic romance, Baekhyun’s head resting on Sehun’s shoulder, their arms linked. The protagonist was presently bearing her soul, begging her boyfriend to stay by her side, but just as they embraced, the dramatic soundtrack swelling in the background, he ended it with her. The boy’s stare was cold and callous and the look on her face is what made Baekhyun lose it, tears seeping into Sehun’s sleeve.

Sehun’s voice was laced with worry. “What’s wrong?”

Baekhyun buried his face in Sehun’s shoulder. He was sure he had gotten snot on his sleeve; it was gross but he couldn’t stop crying.

“It’s just so sad how he left her,” he sobbed, words muffled into Sehun’s skin.

“What’s really going on with you?” Sehun demanded. Baekhyun gave no response. “If you don’t tell me how am I supposed to help?”

Baekhyun clawed at Sehun’s arm, staring dead-eyed at the wall. “Where did you go?”

“What? When?”

“Last night,” Baekhyun said, turning to face Sehun, his tears still pouring in torrents. He projected his voice. “You just up and left without telling me. What if it happens again?” Sehun’s eyebrows furrowed and Baekhyun didn’t know why he was struggling so much to articulate this. Communication had always been such a vital part in their relationship, the glue that had kept them together all these years. “I’m insecure as fuck, okay? When Dad left I cried for months on end to the point that I would make myself sick in the middle of the night, unable to stop. He didn’t just abandon mom; he abandoned _all_ of us. It was like he didn’t care. And even now that we’ve amended our relationship, I’m still affected by him leaving all those years ago, no matter how much I know he’s sorry and that he loves me. I can’t help but think he left because of me, because I was too much of a burden. And now, all our friends are leaving, going their separate ways to live their separate lives in separate corners of the country—of the fucking world, and I’m scared shitless you’ll get sick of me and leave to. And every time I think about it, I can’t fucking breathe because I can’t imagine living my life _without_ you.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Sehun reassured.

“You say that now. But what happens when I leave for college and you’re stuck here? What happens when you get bored and lonely or I see how much hotter college guys are and get tempted and fuck up because I always fuck up. Because I’m a fuck up.”

Gently, Sehun took Baekhyun’s face in his hands, brushing at his tears with his palms. “You aren’t a fuck up. And I don’t want anyone else. Everything is going to be okay. _We’re_ going to be okay.”

It had been a pithy response; it quelled Baekhyun’s worries for the moment. Baekhyun had let Sehun wrap him up in his strong arms and carry him all the way upstairs and to his bed.

 

Baekhyun’s legs wrapped around Sehun’s waist as he’d lied him down on the downy sheets. He was rendered speechless as Sehun had admired him underneath the moonlight seeping through the window, watched him bathe in it, then stripped him down and adorned him with kisses on every inch of skin he could manage.

He didn’t put his mouth where Sehun knew he wanted it until Baekhyun was sobbing again, the tip of his cock red and leaking. Baekhyun was proud he hadn’t come the second the younger boy's lips made contact, but as soon as he hit the back of Sehun’s throat, he was a goner, shuttering as his orgasm ripped through him, a mantra of I love you’s spilling from his lips.

 

The next week, Baekhyun received his acceptance letter in the mail. He reacted indifferently to the news.

He had already made up his mind.

“I got into UWM,” he told Sehun over coffee one rainy afternoon. The café was uncharacteristically empty and his voice echoed louder than desired.

“That’s amazing news,” Sehun said, his smile wide.

“I turned them down.”

Sehun’s smile vanished. “What? _Why_?”

“I’m taking a gap year. To wait for you. They said they’d hold my spot. I know you can get in easier than I did and they have an amazing art program--” Baekhyun’s words were consumed by Sehun’s mouth on his.

“I love you,” Sehun had said.

And Baekhyun knew this decision was the right one.

 

Going off to college together and being roommates had been something straight out of Baekhyun’s wet dreams and now, it's become peachy reality. Sehun loves college more than any kid should and finds himself challenged creatively for once. Baekhyun, though his major is undecided, is more content than ever.

It took a lot of enticing and sweet-talking a stoic woman in her early fifties, something Baekhyun isn’t an expert at, but he finally gets her permission to use the auditorium in the theater building. It’s empty and won’t be needed for another hour or so and that gives Baekhyun plenty of time to slap some tacky decorations up, steal a projector from a nearby classroom and connect it to Sehun’s laptop (also stolen).

It hadn’t been hard gathering fourteen friends here. They are all slaves to Baekhyun’s wishes, anyway (that and his killer smile) and agreed to do this even though some of them should be in class right now. They get ready behind the curtain in record time.

He fiddles with the piece of jewelry shoved in his pocket as he waits for Sehun to arrive. He’d been planning this for days and everything had finally worked out in his favor; he doesn’t know why he’s shaking. A voice calling his name from behind nearly sends him into cardiac arrest and he whirls around to see his boyfriend standing at the top of the steps, bushy eyebrows threaded, art bag slung over his shoulder. He makes his way down to Baekhyun and when he gets closer, Baekhyun spots the smear of charcoal on his cheek and thinks he’s the cutest person alive.

“What is this?” Sehun asks, studying his surroundings. “I have an evening class in twenty minutes. Couldn’t this wait?”

“No. I’ve literally been waiting my whole life for you, Oh.”

The lights dim and Baekhyun flicks on the projector, pointed toward the stage. The video commences, appearing against the red curtains and Sehun’s eyes broaden as he watches the compilation of pieces of footage he had taken of Baekhyun and him together over the years (plus a few of the times Baekhyun had stole Sehun’s camera from him just to film the younger boy) set to a corny love song.

The video concludes and Sehun turns to Baekhyun, mouth agape to speak but before he can produce words, the curtains fly open and the music swells just like a sappy romance film. Their fourteen friends step out in a neat line to reveal the phrase “will you marry me?” on their shirts (it takes a while for Sehun to realize what it says because their idiot friend Mark had been standing in the wrong spot).

Baekhyun gets on his knee in front of Sehun. It’s the first time he’s done this properly, but unlike all the other times, it doesn’t feel silly.

“So..?”

“Okay.”

The answer comes so promptly Baekhyun forgets the ring in his hand and tips over and falls to the floor. Their friends cheer and Sehun helps Baekhyun to his feet, shock paralyzing him. Sehun’s hands settle at his hips and he smiles.

“You mean it?” Baekhyun garbles, wrapping his arms around Sehun’s neck.

“Put the ring on my finger before I change my mind.”

 

That night, Baekhyun gets reprimanded by their RA (he had been running through the dorm hallways shouting, “He said yes! He finally said yes! Sehun Oh, my hot fiancé!” over and over because the word fiancé just sounds so nice). It’s totally worth it. He's so elated he figures he could actually slay a dragon.

And maybe Baekhyun's never been very gallant.

But Sehun makes him want to be.

**Author's Note:**

> -this wasn't even supposed to happen, fam.............but my weak little sebaek heart needed it ;;;  
> -unbeta'd for now, will edit later~


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